IONIA COUNTY — Nine search dogs and their handlers and area Boy Scouts were on hand Saturday at Bertha Brock Park to participate in a mock disaster response scenario. They were watched by several emergency response coordinators, eager to see how search and rescue canine teams operate and how quickly.

The teams were members of Michigan Search and Rescue (MiSAR), a non-profit organization based in Muir, but who hail from across lower Michigan. Saturday's exercise included urban (disaster), wilderness (air-scent) and cadaver (human remains detection) search dogs.

The scenario was a rare December Category 5 tornado hitting the park where Boy Scouts were having a meeting. A dozen members of Boy Scout Troop 85, chartered through the Ionia County Fishing & Hunting Club, along with six parents and scoutmasters, volunteered to be "victims," and hid in different sectors of 300 acres of the park. Teams consisting of a dog, its handler and a field support person went out to find the victims. They were given 90 minutes to do it.

"The troop has served the community for over a decade, helping local youth achieve a wide range of personal skills through the scouting program," said Scoutmaster David McCord. "Troop 85 is very proud to be a part of this training exercise, and we hope to help out again."

"When searching for a missing person, a child under the age of 10 and an older person over the age of 65 only give off about 30 percent of the scent as people not in those age brackets," said Dave Holcomb of MiSAR. "Our search strategy has to be adjusted to make successful finds. Working with Troop 85 gives the canine handlers the opportunity to hone these special skills."

In an hour and 20 minutes, the teams had found their targets. Given the number of teams searching, the acreage and the time frame, Holcomb said, they found the equivalent of 67 victims.

"We did well," he said.

In addition to providing a training opportunity for MiSAR members, the goal also was to introduce the skills and the availability of the organization's teams to more people who might need what MiSAR has to offer.

"They might have the people and the equipment, but not the canines," said Holcomb. "I know of cases where people died because (the authorities) didn't know we existed. They didn't have to die."

MiSAR also has some advantages other search and rescue groups around the state don't have. Its teams can track both live and dead victims, on the land and in the water. MiSAR dogs will come back, find the hander, give an indication that it has found something, and then take the handler back to the find; rather than stay with the find, which could be a mile away, and bark, Holcomb said.

By teaming up with emergency response regions around the state, Holcomb hopes to be able to assist disaster victims across Michigan.

Page 2 of 2 - "It was an opportunity to show our high-quality product to people in a position to actually use it. The biggest problem has been that people don't know us," he said. "Now, when grandpa goes missing, they can say, "We know this canine team out of Muir. Give them a call."